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The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday overturned a 2013 High Court verdict that had declared the registration of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party illegal, bringing a significant legal shift after more than a decade of proceedings.

A four-member bench, led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and comprising Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, and Justice Md  Rezaul Haque, delivered the short order, stating, ‘The High Court was not justified in making the rule absolute.’

The apex court allowed the Jamaat’s appeal and instructed the Election Commission to resolve all pending matters concerning the party’s registration, constitution, and other related issues in accordance with its constitutional authority.

‘A full judgment is to follow,’ said the brief verdict.

‘The Jamaat’s registration status stands restored to its position prior to the now-overturned High Court verdict,’ Jamaat lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·, referring to the Appellate Division’s brief order.

The Jamaat’s appeal, which had been dismissed on November 19, 2023 due to the absence of its lawyers, was reinstated by the Appellate Division on October 22, 2024.

Jamaat counsel Ehsan Abdullah Siddiq, speaking to ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·, said that the ruling also enabled the party to seek restoration of its traditional election symbol —daripalla (traditional scales) — which had been revoked in 2016 following a Supreme Court directive citing its association with the judiciary.

Siddiq argued that the High Court’s endorsement of the EC’s cancellation of the Jamaat’s registration was premature, as the party’s application was still under review at the time.

He noted that the prohibition on the daripalla symbol stemmed not from a judicial ruling but from an internal Supreme Court full court decision.

The legal challenge to the Jamaat’s registration was initiated on January 25, 2009 when Rezaul Haque Chandpuri, then secretary general of the Bangladesh Tariqat Federation — an ally of the then-ruling Awami League — and 24 others filed a writ petition, claiming that the Jamaat’s charter contravened the constitutional principles of secularism and national sovereignty.

Following the 2013 High Court ruling, the Jamaat filed an appeal that was dismissed before being reinstated in late 2024.

During the July–August 2024 mass uprising that led to the downfall of the Awami League government, Sheikh Hasina’s administration on August 1, 2024 banned the Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, labelling them terrorist organisations under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Hasina was ousted and fled to India on August 5.

After assuming office on August 8, 2024, the interim government reversed the ban through a gazette notification, responding to formal appeals made by the Jamaat.

The latest Appellate Division verdict has now paved the way for the Jamaat to seek a full political reinstatement as a political party, pending the EC’s review.